Yemen’s Houthi militia launched a ballistic missile toward Mecca on Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen’s civil war on behalf of the government said in a statement.

Reuters via the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reports that Coalition forces “destroyed the missile 65 km (40 miles) from the holy city before it could do any damage, and retaliated against the launch site inside Yemen.”

Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States, expressed the GCC’s “firm denunciation and condemnation of a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi militias and their supporters towards Mecca,” the SPA also reported.

The Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said that the attempt represents “an unacceptable violation of the sanctity of the holy lands,” calling the attack a “serious escalation committed by the Houthi militias.”